Bulldogs Finish First Among Collegiate Teams at Head of the Charles

Oct 19, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Yale women's crew team
turned in a very strong performance this weekend at the Head of the
Charles regatta in Cambridge, Mass. The Bulldogs were the top
collegiate finishers in the Women's Championship Eights, bested
only by the World Champion USA eight and ASR Nereus--a composite
crew of the top four pair rowers from the world championships.
Additionally, the Elis placed sixth in the Women's Championship
Fours and second in the Women's Club Eights.

In the premier event of the regatta, the
Championship Eights, the Bulldogs finished third overall with a
time of 16:43.750. ASR Nereus won the gold with a time of
16:08.165. As the top collegiate finisher, Yale even beat out the
Canadian national team (17:04.191) and Nautilus Rowing Club
(16:45.547), which is a British entry of national team athletes.

Head coach William Porter commented on the
team's performance, "The fall races are not always viewed as
important but any time we put on a Yale uniform and line up against
other schools and keep track of the time, we want to win. Some
coaches may say the fall doesn't matter but it does to us."

In a day of very tough conditions, the Elis
also finished second in the Club Eights and sixth in the
Championship Fours. In the Club Eights, the Yale time of 17:12.375
was bested only by University of Virginia with 17:03.732. In the
Championship Fours, Yale finished with a time of 19:21.578, behind
Old Glory Boat Club's winning time of 18:14.587.

"I am pleased with the way we raced under
miserable conditions," said coach Porter. "At the end of the day
everyone has to race in the same conditions and it becomes an
excuse or just another part of the challenge. I thought we did a
good job of meeting the challenge."

As the team looks forward to the rest of the
season, coach Porter reflected on their performance thus far, "I am
proud of our team. We do have some work to do with our younger
athletes to strengthen the middle of our team but we are getting
there."